Prayer Holiday

25 Scriptures to Pray to Prepare Your Heart for Christmas

Christmas is always a busy time of year. There’s decorations to put up, gifts to buy, parties to attend, memories to make. There’s pressure to have Pinterest perfect decor and the best Christmas experiences for your whole family, that it’s easy to miss the peace and joy that the birth of our Savior should bring.

I absolutely love reading Advent devotionals to get my heart in the right place before Christmas. But this year, I’ve decided that in addition to reading Advent devotionals to prepare my heart for Christmas, I want to be intentional about reading and reflecting on God’s Word to prepare my heart for Christmas.

There is a button near the bottom of this page where you can share or print this article. I encourage you to print it out, keep it in your Bible, and read and reflect on one of these Scriptures and prayer prompts a day throughout Advent.

Scriptures to Pray To Prepare Your Heart for Christmas

Pray that this holiday season, you will be filled with the joy and the wonder of God sending His son as a gift so that we would be saved. "Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” (Psalm 51:12)
Pray that you would be filled with the hope, joy, peace, and love that Jesus came to the world to bring us. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him.” (Romans 15:13)

Pray that you would praise God for the Savior’s coming as Zechariah did saying, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.” (Luke 1:67-68)
Pray that you would yield whatever dreams and expectations you had for your life, to be an obedient servant like Mary did. “The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus….“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:30-31, 38)
Pray that like Joseph, you would not only accept Jesus as the Savior of the world, but also be obedient to love and serve Him. “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins…When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him.” (Matthew 1:20-21, 24)
Pray that like Mary, we would allow the Holy Trinity to take residence within us, to be shared with the world around us. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)
Pray that you would have the faith to recognize the presence and power of Jesus, as Elizabeth and baby John the Baptist did. “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!” (Luke 1:41-42)
Pray that you would be able to praise God for how He is using you in your life and in your circumstances, as Mary did. “And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.” (Luke 1:46-49)

Pray that you would treasure the reason for the season as Mary did. ”All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:18-19)
Pray that you would experience the peace that Jesus came to bring. “And suddenly there appeared with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to all men.” (Luke 2:13-14)
Pray that you would experience the joy that Jesus brought into the world with His birth, as the shepherds experienced. “The angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people…the Shepherds returned {after seeing baby Jesus}, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told." (Luke 2:10, 20)

Thank Jesus that He left the comforts of heaven to come amidst our brokenness, sin, and pain, to rescue us. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
Thank God for His faithfulness and keeping His promises, that all the prophesies of a coming Savior were fulfilled in Jesus’ birth. “Therefore the LORD himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)
Thank God that He gave us the greatest gift of all at Christmas–salvation through Jesus. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
Pray that you would be in awe and wonder at the power of Jesus. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Pray that you would boldly share about the birth of Jesus with others, as the shepherds did. “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.” (Luke 2:17-18)
Pray that your heart would be prepared for Christ’s coming–that sins would be confessed and your heart yielded to what God would have for you. “John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, ‘A voice of one calling in the wildness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight paths for him.’" (Matthew 3:1-3)
Pray that like the prophet Simeon, you would have eyes opened to the Savior’s presence in your life. “Simeon…took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, “Sovereign Lord…I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations and he is the glory of your people Israel!” (Luke 2:28, 30-32)
Pray that you would worship continually, awaiting the Savior’s arrival, as Anna did. “There was also a prophet, Anna…she never left the temple but worshipped day and night, fasting and praying. Coming up to them (Mary, Joseph and Jesus), she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were thinking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:36-38)

Pray that you would not get distracted by the holiday festivities, but that you would focus on and celebrate the wonder of what Christmas is all about: “When they {the wise men/Magi} saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him." (Matthew 2:10-11)
Thank Jesus that He came to save us and to be “the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Pray that your faith would continue to grow and you see God move in mighty ways in your life and the lives around you. “Even your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:36-37)
Pray that you, your loved ones, and every person on earth would experience the joy of Christmas. “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” (Luke 2:10)
Pray that you would share the reason for the season with your children and/or other children in your lives, “Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deuteronomy 11:9)
Pray that your heart and your home would be filled with all the fruit of the Spirit at Christmas season and every season. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22)
Thank God for the greatest gift of Jesus and all that He came to bring us. “Every good gift and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights.” (James 1:17)

I pray that our time together, of savoring and praying God’s Word about the birth of Emmanuel, God with us, has brought you hope this Christmas and beyond.
Merry CHRISTmas!
Jenn